Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Employers' Duty to Monitor Employees' Internet Activities
In a case with potential national implications, a New Jersey court recently held in a case of first impression that employers have a legal obligation to investigate an employee's activities when they know or have reason to know that the employee is using a workplace computer to access child pornography. Doe v. XYC Corporation, 382 NJ Super. 122 (App. Div. 2005). The court also held that an employer is required to report the employee's activities to the proper authorities and to take 'effective internal action' to stop the employee's activities. Based on the facts of the case, the court also ruled that 'no privacy interest of the employee stands in the way of this duty on the part of the employer.' XYC Corporation filed notice that it was petitioning the New Jersey Supreme Court to review the decision. However, the parties settled the matter, and XYC Corporation withdrew its petition.
This ruling may have far-reaching implications for employers because it imposes duties on them to: 1) ensure that their employees' illegal work conduct does not cause injury to third parties, and 2) report an employee's potentially illegal conduct to the proper authorities. The XYC Corporation case may be the beginning of a trend in which other courts adopt a similar analysis in situations involving serious public policy issues such as child pornography or child abuse. In fact, the California Supreme Court has held that three school districts were potentially liable to a 13-year-old girl who had been sexually molested by a former employee. See Randi W. v. Muroc Joint Unified School Dist., 14 Cal. 4th 1066 (1997). The former employers had unconditionally praised the former employee in their letters of recommendation, even though they knew of charges or complaints of his prior sexual misconduct with students. The case also highlights the risk that third parties can sue employers for the criminal acts of their employees. Although the ruling in the XYC Corporation case is limited to the context of child pornography, it may be expanded in the future to impose liability on employers for their employees' use of work computers for other criminal activities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.